


Undead Memories

by schneefink



Category: The Adventure Zone: Balance (Podcast)
Genre: (some people are more surprised than others), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Memory Loss, a surprising amount of liches and undead, more accurately memory erasure by Voidfish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-02-22 14:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schneefink/pseuds/schneefink
Summary: At the end of his first date with Taako, Kravitz feels a lich. He finds it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU from episode 50, "Lunar Interlude IV – The Calm Before the Storm," right after Taako and Kravitz' first date. The first 500 words or so are verbatim from the episode, via [TAZscripts](http://tazscripts.tumblr.com/) \- I know that's a lot, but it seemed like the best place to start. (If you want to skip that bit, go straight to "mockingbird gum".)

GRIFFIN: He steps backward with a start and extends his arm and his scythe appears in his arm, and a black cloak just kind of unfurls itself over his head--

TAAKO: Love this.

GRIFFIN: --and sort of surrounding his whole body, and all of a sudden his super handsome face is now a skull. And he starts looking around desperately. And he says,

KRAVITZ: There's something here. There's something here, Taako, it was--

TAAKO: I feel it too!

KRAVITZ: It was-- no, not this, the-- there's something here, it was in the Millers’ lab too, I could feel it. It's dead and it's powerful and it's extremely close. Are you harboring a dark spirit, Taako? Do you-- do you have suspicions that you might be some sort of vessel?

GRIFFIN: And he's kind of eyeing you over with the scythe in his hand. 

TAAKO: Maybe? I mean, it's been, like, a few years. Was that a thing for a while? I eat old dead dudes with my umbrella, is that a possibility, maybe?

KRAVITZ: I don't-- no, I don't think it's that.

GRIFFIN: He starts looking around, and Kravitz turns his back to you. And starts to sort of walk toward the middle of the quad, still kind of looking around for whatever this powerful dead thing is. And Taako, you actually feel the Umbra Staff in your hand start to raise itself up. It's not controlling you, it's controlling itself as it sort of raises itself up, and then your arm is outstretched holding the Umbra Staff, and it is pointed at Kravitz's back. What do you do? It looks like it's charging up a spell.

JUSTIN: I... point it skyward...

GRIFFIN: Okay. You point the-- you sort of wrestle with the umbrella for a second and you point it skyward, and you shoot a Scorching Ray into the sky. And it doesn't hit anybody, but it launches a flare up into the sky. And Kravitz turns immediately back towards you and he says,

KRAVITZ: What was that?

TAAKO: The Umbra Staff's trying to kill you, man, it's not me!

KRAVITZ: What?

TAAKO: The Umbra Staff, check it out, I used to think Umbro but it's actually Umbra-- it acted on its own.

KRAVITZ: I don't understand, that's not-- can I see it?

TAAKO: Okay!

GRIFFIN: You hand it over, and he looks it over, and he says,

KRAVITZ: This isn't like a cursed item, maybe your umbrella's cursed and maybe you should get that checked out... this is an undead being, this is like a lich or something big and powerful, and it's- you're not a lich, are you, Taako?

TAAKO: Not to my knowledge, not a lich, no.

KRAVITZ: I mean, you're not, I would know if you were. It still feels like there's one around, though…

TAAKO: I've got an arcane trickster's glove... no sodium salt shaker... ring of frost...

KRAVITZ: I mean, you can just lay all your stuff out if you want, but I don't think it's- it's definitely not the salt shaker. 

TAAKO: ...Mockingbird gum...

KRAVITZ: No, it's, you don't have- the gum is not a lich. None of these items are powerful enough to harbor a lich.

TAAKO: Hey, my staff is pretty powerful.

KRAVITZ: That's not… *sound of dice rolling* Wait, let me look at it again.

TAAKO: Sure, man. 

GRIFFIN: This time, the staff seems to resist you when you try to hold it out.

JUSTIN: I hold it out anyway.

KRAVITZ: Taako, where did you get this?

TAAKO: I took it off some dead body in a cave. It's always done weird stuff, like, it destroyed Agnus' macaroons once, that was not cool. They weren't very good but they weren't that terrible. Hey, do you think there's a lich in my umbrella?

GRIFFIN: Kravitz takes the Umbra Staff, and his eyes start to glow. The Umbra Staff jerks in his hands, and *dice rolling* Kravitz grips it harder. He starts to take a swing with his scythe.

TAAKO: Whoa, what are you doing?

GRIFFIN: Are you doing anything else?

JUSTIN: …not yet.

GRIFFIN: Kravitz swings the scythe and *dice rolling* cuts the Umbra Staff clean through. Um.

TAAKO: Hey! That was my favorite umbrella!

GRIFFIN: Okay. So at first, nothing happens. The top half of the umbrella clatters to the ground, and Kravitz is still holding the lower half and he's staring at it. And just when you think that maybe there isn't anything, Kravitz sort of… he lets the umbrella fall, and it lands on the ground but it stays vertical. And Kravitz closes his hand right above it and it looks like he's grasping at something in the air and then he's pulling something out, some kind of magic, and then suddenly there's a small bolt of lightning and a shockwave. Both Taako and Kravitz are thrown back.

JUSTIN: Like, across the quad?

GRIFFIN: No, only a few feet. And a figure rises from the halves of the Umbra Staff: it's an elven woman in a red robe. Taako, you can see her face, but you can't, like, your brain refuses to put it together quite right. And the elf woman looks at you and says

ELF WOMAN: Taako! 

GRIFFIN: And she, um, starts to fly towards you, while Kravitz starts to take another swing with his scythe.

TAAKO: Wait! That's my umbrella you're attacking here! 

ELF WOMAN: (exasperated) I'm not an umbrella, doofus.

KRAVITZ: Taako, get away from her. That's a lich, and she's dangerous.

TAAKO: Yeah, but not to me, I think. I mean, the umbrella has been very useful. I have no idea who she is… apart from a Red Robe, obviously…

ELF WOMAN: Taako, I'm [static noise.] 

GRIFFIN: You can't understand what she's saying next. But Kravitz can, and he looks astonished.

JUSTIN: Is it the same sound we heard before we met the Voidfish?

GRIFFIN: It's exactly the same sound.

KRAVITZ: Taako, you didn't tell me you [static].

TAAKO: Dude, I can't understand you. 

GRIFFIN: The elf woman turns to Kravitz.

ELF WOMAN: He can't understand. There's [static], and the Director [static]. You have to help me. She's going to destroy the world.

TAAKO: Wait, what? 

KRAVITZ: That seems… unlikely. 

GRIFFIN: Kravitz is still holding his scythe like he's going to attack at any moment. Actually, give me a perception check.

JUSTIN: 16.

GRIFFIN: You see people running into the quad, all of them with weapons pointed at the Red Robe next to you. You realize that there was probably an alarm triggered. It looks like they're going to attack at any moment, but some of them look like they're hesitating because you're right next to the Red Robe. And the Red Robe notices them too, and she turns to Kravitz.

ELF WOMAN: I have to get out of here, but this is important. Just let me explain things, okay? It will all make sense, I promise, just let me explain.

GRIFFIN: Kravitz looks at her. *dice rolling* Huh. Okay. He sort of nods, and says,

KRAVITZ: You have one chance, and if you're lying…

ELF WOMAN: I'm not.

JUSTIN: Can I make an insight check?

GRIFFIN: Sure.

JUSTIN: 8.

GRIFFIN: It's really hard to get anything from her expression, because you can't really see it? Or at least not comprehend it.

TAAKO: Hey, what's going on? 

GRIFFIN: The elf woman looks at you, and you get this feeling like she's really familiar, like you know her really well and she's really important. But you still don't recognize her face or her voice.

ELF WOMAN: I'll come back, Taako, I promise. I'll fix this, I swear. 

TAAKO: Fix what?

GRIFFIN: *dice rolling* A ray of blue energy streaks across the quad and hits the elf woman. She sort of, hm, becomes a little more see-through, kinda? You look up and you see the Director, and she's already aiming her staff at the Red Robe again.

JUSTIN: I cast Wall of Force. An invisible wall of force springs into existence.

GRIFFIN: Okay! Where is the wall?

JUSTIN: It's between the elf woman and the Director. Actually, no, it's a circle.

GRIFFIN: Who's in the circle? I assume the elf woman and you – is Kravitz in the circle?

JUSTIN: Hm. It's his duty to hunt down liches, right?

GRIFFIN: Right.

JUSTIN: But she also asked for his help, and it kind of sounded like he was going to agree. Does it look like he's going to agree?

GRIFFIN: He looks… actually his face is still a skull, so you can't really tell. But he's not aiming his scythe at her anymore.

JUSTIN: Okay. The circle is around the elf woman, Taako, and Kravitz.

GRIFFIN: Great. So… You said the wall is invisible, right? But let's say from somewhere else in the crowd an arrow flies and impacts the wall, so the people around know it's there.

TAAKO: Someone tell me what's going on. 

ELF WOMAN: Thanks, Taako, but this isn't gonna hold long. I'll come back and explain though, I swear. Kravitz, please get us out of here. It's really important. 

GRIFFIN: Kravitz looks around and sees the Director. He looks back at the lich, and then he grabs her arm and with his scythe he cuts a rift in the air to the astral plane. He turns to you and says… actually he sort of hesitates like he doesn't know what to say, but because his face is still a skull it's kinda hard to tell.

KRAVITZ: Goodbye, Taako.

TAAKO: Wait! Can I come with you?

GRIFFIN: Seriously?

JUSTIN: Yeah.

GRIFFIN: Okay, um… Kravitz shakes his head.

KRAVITZ: I'm sorry, Taako, but this is my job. I'll contact you later.

GRIFFIN: And they go through the rift.

JUSTIN: Can I jump through the rift after them?

GRIFFIN: Hm, let's see… make a… make a reflex check.

JUSTIN: 11.

GRIFFIN: That's not enough. The rift closes immediately behind them.

TAAKO: Well, shit.

GRIFFIN: In the next moment you feel your Wall of Force disappear. The Director is walking toward you, and she looks angry and afraid.

DIRECTOR: What happened!

TAAKO: That's what I want to know!

[Theme song plays]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be the only chapter in transcript format, but I'll see where it goes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako confronts the Director.

You're so angry you're shaking. You want to grip the handle of your umbrella; not five minutes ago it was hacked apart by the grim reaper's scythe, but it's still lying on the floor, so you cast Mending and pick it up again, and then you lean on it and try to smile at the Director as she comes near. It probably looks more like baring teeth, which honestly fits your mood better anyway.

There's a second Voidfish, and it made you forget something important. Someone important. You knew the elf woman, you know it in your bones, and she's important to you, she felt like a part of you you didn't know was missing. Now you know you're missing someone, missing her, but you still don't know who she is. It's like – like knowing, for certain, that you were meant to have an additional limb that you can't remember, a second arm when you've only ever had one or wings when you didn't know you were meant to be able to fly, and now it's like an itch you can't scratch, a constant reminder that something is wrong and you can't even grasp the shape of it.

And the woman who's responsible for that missing shape is walking toward you and she dares to look fucking worried, like you're not one inch away from throwing her to the ground and demanding she give you back what she stole. You almost wish Magnus and Merle were here to hold you back because you know it's objectively a bad idea, with so many witnesses around, but it's oh so tempting.

"Taako," she says, and she sounds fucking _concerned._ But she seems to pick up on some of your mood, at least, because she asks if you could talk in her office. You agree and follow her to her office so you can talk, and by talk you mean demand answers, demand to be inoculated against the second Voidfish to get back _whoever that Red Robe was_.

The Director orders everyone else out of her office. The moment the doors close you aim your umbrella at her. "I want answers."

She sighs and leans back, looking tired and sorrowful, and how _dare_ she? How dare she look like this is oh-so-hard for her?

You tell her that you know there's a second Voidfish, you tell her you know you knew that Red Robe, that lich that _lived in your umbrella_ \- what the fuck - , you tell her that Red Robe said the Director was going to destroy the world and you tell her that you won't lift another finger for the Bureau of Balance until you know everything. And Merle and Magnus won't either once you tell them, you know that, and you know that the Director needs you. You have your staff pointed at her, destructive arcane energy tingling in your hand, and she better tell you what you want to know if she knows what's good for her.

"Taako, I'm so sorry," she says, "I never wanted it to happen like this," but who cares? Who cares what she wanted, she stole something from you that she had no business taking and she fucking _lied_ to you about it, and you want it _back_. You're going to get it back, no matter what it takes.

She looks sad, and not at all concerned about what you might do, sort of resigned to whatever happens next and a little bit pitying, and it makes you pause.

"What are you planning," you ask, and she gives you one of these fucking sad smiles again, and you understand, and suddenly you're cold.

"You're going to erase my memory of this, aren't you," but it's not a question, and she's not denying it. You still have your staff pointed at her chest, but you realize that she's also holding her staff, and you remember that she's also a powerful magician of unknown strength.

How dare she? How fucking dare she? Fuck it. You cast a spell at her because you're furious, something fiery and bright because you want to lash out and hurt her, and you expected it but when it washes harmlessly against a transparent shield you still grit your teeth.

You try it again. Same result.

How often has she done it before? Has she just done this every time you found out something she didn't want you to know, to you or Magnus or Merle did; how often does she feed your memories to her second Voidfish? How much has she stolen that you've never known to miss?

You shout it at her and she looks stricken, tries to assure you that she "only took what she had to," what a bullshit excuse. It was she who decided that, who decided to cut out parts of you.

She looks sick. She says it was necessary because she has to save the world and you wouldn't let her; well apparently past Taako knew that she was fucking psycho, only he wasn't careful enough to not be brainwashed by her.

She says she's sorry again. You set a bookshelf on fire, because you have to destroy something or you'll scream.

The doors are locked. You don't even have to check. Even if you could get out and tell someone, what good would it do? Their memory would be erased as well. She probably has the second Voidfish around here somewhere, it's only a matter of minutes now. You can't get to her, and there's not really anything you can do to stop her.

"At least tell me who she is," you demand, and you're not begging. Except you are, because you _need to know_. It's _important_. "You're making me forget again anyway, just tell me who she is!"

"I can't," she says, and she's fucking _crying_ , the traitorous bitch. "I'm so sorry, Taako, I'm so sorry."

"Fuck you," you spit at her.

Her free hand, the one not holding her staff, curls around a pen. There's paper on her desk, and gods, will you have to stand there and _watch_ while she writes down what she will steal from you?

You try to recall all you can about the elf woman, but your brain is glitching and you can't hold onto anything. Except that she promised to come back. She promised to come back and fix it, and you have to believe that that's true. You have to believe that Kravitz is not just going to kill her: he seemed like a decent guy, overall, and he's dead. That means the Voidfish doesn't affect him, and even if the Director makes you forget, Kravitz won't, and he can remind you. Kravitz said he'll contact you, and you have to believe that he will. He's the fucking Grim Reaper, the Director can't stop him. He'll remind you, and you'll figure out a way to get your memories back. You have to.

You want to set the whole fucking office on fire, but it would change nothing.

"I'm never going to forgive you," you tell her, and she just _nods_.

"I know," she says. "But I have to do this," and it's bullshit but you can see that she believes it, and you know you have no chance to convince her otherwise. You hate her.

She opens her mouth again and you wonder how often she'll try to apologize before realizing that it's pointless, that what she's done and doing is unforgivable; but instead she aims her staff at you and casts a spell, and everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Kravitz and Lup!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz and Lup talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me far longer than I thought/hoped it would, but on the plus side, I finally finished outlining the entire story. As an experiment, I'm using a different narration type for each chapter.

The rift Kravitz had opened led to a small empty island in the Astral Sea, far away from anything or anyone. It was almost impossible to run away from a grim reaper on the astral plane, and the lich seemed sincere when she said she needed to talk to him – but just in case that this was a trick after all, he wanted to give her nothing she could use to escape. 

Kravitz needn't have worried. Lup recognized the astral plane, she'd even visited it once before with the help of a friendly witch a few dozen worlds ago, but planar travel had never been an area of magic that particularly interested her. She had never seen something like Kravitz' scythe, something that could easily cut open a doorway to another plane, and she looked at it with interest. Something like that could be very useful. 

"So," Kravitz said, as soon as the rift closed. He summoned his book. "What's your name?"

"Lup. I'm Taako's sister."

"You said." The book seemed to take slightly longer than normal to find her entry, but the right page fell open eventually. "You died twelve times, and you're a lich? That's the highest bounty I've ever seen!"

"If I didn't become a lich I would have died more often," Lup pointed out, quite reasonably. She hadn't kept track, but twelve was slightly more than she'd expected. She'd definitely died less often than Merle or Magnus.

"That doesn't make it better!" Kravitz snapped the book shut and dismissed it. "You're a lich, that's worse than pretty much anything else! I should put you into the Eternal Stockade immediately."

"Listen, there's kind of more important things going on right now," Lup said. "Just let me explain, okay?"

"One wrong move…"

"Yeah, I got it." 

Kravitz wouldn't have been happy if he'd known, but Lup didn't consider him a big threat. She was the most powerful evocation mage in several worlds, what little she'd seen of Kravitz' fighting skills from the umbrella hadn't been that impressive in comparison. Besides, she'd never met one of the Raven Queen's reapers before in this or the previous worlds, and if they hunted liches, shouldn't they have been after Barry and her since their transformation? 

Still, Taako seemed to be interested in this guy, so the least she could do was try to recruit him to their cause; and if that didn't work she could still flee, find Barry, and then figure out a way to fix this mess. They should probably get Taako, Magnus, and Merle their memories back first.

What Lup didn't know was that Kravitz had encountered a lich before. It had been a very powerful necromancer in a red robe, and after a fierce battle he'd escaped. Kravitz was determined not to let it happen again, and he'd been planning and preparing for the day he would find him again. He hadn't expected to find another lich so soon - before the red-robed necromancer, he hadn't seen any in decades - but he was ready. 

It was weird that this lich, too, was wearing a red robe, but maybe they were in fashion among necromancers. Maybe he'd ask, later, after she'd finished her explanation. He didn't think it was likely that she'd be able to convince him: she wouldn't be the first criminal to try to get away by telling a sob story or a fantastical tale, and sometimes they were suffering from delusions. Still, potential threats had to be investigated. 

As he motioned for her to begin, Kravitz was unaware how unprepared he was for the story she was about to tell him.

"Well, first of all," Lup began, "we're from a different planet…"

She'd hardly ever told someone of their adventures – there was rarely a reason to, and in those cases she'd usually left it to other crew members to explain – and so it wasn't a smooth narrative: several times she had to go back to fill in details she'd left out, or she suddenly found herself on a tangent that wasn't relevant to the reaper. It was obvious that he had a hundred questions, but she held up a hand to stop him every time he tried to interrupt, otherwise she'd never be able to finish. 

It was a monologue, not a conversation, and yet the simple fact that she wasn't just talking to herself, that for the first time in years someone was listening to what she was saying, made her want to go on and on. It was a story of a hundred and ten years, and it took a while to tell. Still, eventually she came to a stop. 

"And that's why we need to stop Lucretia," she ended. "You can ask your questions now."

Kravitz' skull was expressionless. For several moments he stayed silent, unable to think of where to even begin, until he decided to start with one detail that for Lup seemed to be an afterthought, but which was very relevant to him.

"You're telling me that one of you created the Animus Bell." 

That was not the question Lup had expected him to ask first. She'd been so caught up in the story that she hadn't considered how a bounty hunter of the Raven Queen would react to finding out about the origin of perhaps the most dangerous necromantic artifact in the world. 

"Who was it?"

"Now, that's not really the most important-" she tried to deflect, but Kravitz cut her off. The darkness in his eyes and underneath his cloak seemed to thicken and expand, and his voice rang more hollow than it had before.

"Who was it."

There wasn't really a reason not to tell him that it had been Barry – Barry was a lich and that alone would sentence him in the eyes of the Raven Queen – and yet Lup hesitated. She told herself that she was just worried that Kravitz would prioritize hunting Barry over stopping Lucretia and then the Hunger.

She would have been even more concerned had she known about the depth of Kravitz' feelings about the Animus Bell. The crew of the Starblaster hadn't monitored the Relics closely at first, and the Bell was one of the first to disappear from their notice. The time a kid rung the Bell and everyone in their village switched bodies attracted attention, but not as much as a whole town going up in flames or being turned into candy. Nobody except the reapers knew about the priestess who caught the souls of the dying in rosaries, or the serial killer who wore the body of each victim until their next kill, or the graveyard raised with souls torn back from the Astral plane. All servants of the Raven Queen had been after the Animus Bell for years, cleaning up the messes it left behind while always just failing to get a hold of the Bell itself, until after a few years, it suddenly disappeared. Some were glad that it was gone, while others were afraid of what someone might be doing in secret with the Animus Bell for several years. Kravitz was one of the latter. For years, the Animus Bell reappearing in the hands of powerful necromancers had been a constant worry in the back of his skull. 

"If you don't tell me, I'll hold all of you responsible," he said, because that was the only option. He firmly ignored that that would include Taako as well. Surely one of them would talk eventually, maybe even the guilty party if the crew was as close as Lup's story indicated. 

His suspicion was correct, and Lup knew it too. "Barry," she said. "But fortunately, I don't know where he is. And there's no time to look for him now, we have a world to save, remember?" 

Kravitz did remember. He believed her story, partly because some of it could be corroborated and partly because it was just too crazy to make up. He even agreed that preventing Lucretia from sealing off this plane and the Hunger from swallowing it took precedence over finding one criminal, even one with crimes as large as Barry. However, there were ways around that. Kravitz was a bounty hunter: he had experience in finding people.

"We don't need to look for him. You'll contact him via Sending and tell him where to go, and he'll come." It was a wager, but one Kravitz was confident he would win. Lup hadn't mentioned their romance, but the way she talked about him it was obvious that she cared deeply about him, and Kravitz thought it likely that it was reciprocated. If one looked past the necromantic aura almost visibly emanating from her, she had the same kind of captivating beauty and charisma as her brother. 

Lup knew that Kravitz was right. Barry had been looking for her for years, of course he would come. Even if she managed to sneak in a warning that he shouldn't, he'd come to rescue her, and while she had no doubt that the two of them were able to defeat one reaper, the situation changed if the reaper had a chance to set up traps in advance. It was too big a risk to take. Besides, Kravitz already knew about the danger now, he'd try to stop Lucretia on his own. No, Lup was going to flee as soon as Kravitz opened a path to the physical plane again.

Her decision came too late. The path Kravitz cut with his scythe led straight into a temple of the Raven Queen, from which no lich could escape until the Raven Queen Herself granted it. When Barry arrived, Kravitz could immediately lock both of them in the Eternal Stockade.

"You'll need our help," Lup said quickly, as soon as she realized where the path led. "You can't deal with Lucretia and fight off the Hunger on your own. No world could, and it's even angrier now."

She had a point. And yet, even if he wanted to agree- "I can't just let you go!" He could make some small deals and judgment calls on his own, like he'd done with Taako and his friends, but letting liches roam free far exceeded his authority. The Raven Queen would have to judge them Herself, and She would decide if their help was crucial.

"You don't need to. Look, we'll swear to help in the fight, okay? Let's save this world together. You can always imprison us afterwards."

If Kravitz had a throat right then, he would have scoffed. "Nice try." 

"We'll swear a vow. If the Raven Queen marks us, She can find us anywhere, right?" As long as they had more time to save this world and, more importantly, their family, they could worry about everything else later. Even if they had to serve time in magical prison, it would be worth it. She knew Barry would agree. Besides, escape from the Eternal Stockade was possible, and she was positive that they could do a better job than Maureen had.

"That's true." It was a good compromise, and Kravitz wished he'd thought about it earlier. In the temple of the Raven Queen it would be easy for him to perform the necessary ritual. "Okay. I'll mark you and Barry, and you'll help me prevent Lucretia from sealing off this plane and then to fight off the approaching dimension-traveling monster."

"The Hunger isn't a monster. It's more like a separate evil plane," Lup corrected absent-mindedly, turning toward the pathway. In a few moments she could call Barry and then she'd see him again, finally. And then they'd get her brother and their other friends their memories back, and they'd finally all be back together again. 

"Wait," Kravitz said. Now that they'd agreed on the next steps, he'd changed out of his skeletal form, and he was frowning. "So… the Hunger is an evil plane, that seeks to devour other planes." How would one even fight a plane – except- "And you said Lucretia knows a spell to completely seal off a plane. Could she…"

Lup stared at him. "Huh. That could actually work! Why didn't we think of that? Now I get what Taako sees in you," she added with a wink, and was delighted when Kravitz blushed. "I'm sure Lucretia will agree." Her excitement summoned small flames around her. She hadn't felt this optimistic in a long time.

"Great. Let's get to it, then." The sooner they could deal with the danger and the sooner he could put the liches in jail where they belonged, the better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz, Lup, and Barry on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Limited 3rd person this time, I had fun with Kravitz.

"More travelers coming from the East. If they're useless, this time I wanna be a zombie T-Rex when we chase them away."

"I don't…"

"C'mon, babe, we're helping them! It's just fair we get to have a little fun too. Gotta get our last good deeds in before we go to prison," Lup says, and she winks. 

Barry sighs. "Fine." He turns to Kravitz. "Can we?"

"Yeah, can you please furlough us to save some poor souls from evil?"

Kravitz nods his assent, and Lup and Barry float away through the woods, Lup already describing the scare tactics she has come up with.

Lup keeps making jokes about their impending jail sentence, and Kravitz… isn't quite comfortable with that. He wishes she would stop, but he doesn't quite dare mentioning it to her because Lup has a sharp tongue. 

(Just like her brother. He ignores the thought.)

He shouldn't be uncomfortable when Lup mentions the prison. The fact that she and Barry are still free at all is a sign of the Raven Queen's generosity, a boon for alerting them of the imminent danger and for helping in the fight against the threat. As Kravitz suspected, Barry came immediately when Lup contacted him. He barely hesitated when he noticed that it was a temple of the Raven Queen, and he immediately agreed to the same arrangement that Lup had: that they'd stay free for now until the danger had passed and be jailed later. Kravitz put the magical mark of the Raven Queen on them that would let him find them anywhere.

So now Kravitz is the parole officer for Lup and Barry, two liches who fought an unfathomable evil for a hundred years on a hundred worlds and who are also two of the most powerful magic users he's ever come across. He doesn't even have to worry that they'll try to flee because they're working toward the same goal. Which is a relief, because he wouldn't want to face them in battle. 

(They might still try to run, after. Kravitz isn't sure what he'd do, but it would probably involve calling in reinforcements.)

He's never spent time with liches before, and he didn't know what to expect. On the one hand, they're liches, walking embodiments of flaunting the Raven Queen's rules. One of them is the necromancer who built the Animus Bell, that treated souls like objects to play with, and the other built the Phoenixfire Gauntlet, which incinerated thousands. On the other hand, one of them is Taako's twin sister and appears to share Taako's general attitude and humor, and the other is the red robe Kravitz met previously, who turned out to be a dorky, love-struck nerd in glasses who is almost embarrassed about causing any trouble. 

They keep telling stories. "Oh, remember when," and "that's just how it was on that one world," and "that reminds me of this fantastical thing nobody except us has ever heard of." He doesn't even bother pretending that he's not fascinated. 

(He'd rather hear about it from someone else though.) 

It's over two hours before Lup and Barry return. Kravitz is used to waiting on his own on the job, but after spending some time in their lively (hah) company, the quiet feels more lonely again. 

"And?"

"This group might actually work," Barry says, sounding pensive. 

"Well, they're at least better than the last three," Lup agrees, "and we can't wait forever." 

They don't know when the Hunger will arrive, but judging from the scouts and Barry's calculations, they have a few months at best. Kravitz, Lup, and Barry discussed waiting until Lucretia had assembled all of the Relics on her own, but from what they could glean from Kravitz' spying on her the next mission was almost half a year in the future and they couldn't afford to wait that long. Besides, when Barry, who'd tracked his Relic some time ago, told Lup where it was, she flatly refused to let her brother go after it, especially at his current power levels. No, it would be easier if they got the Animus Bell on their own first and could then use it as extra bargaining chip when they confronted Lucretia.

"Do you think they'll last long enough? For you to do… your thing?" 

"Create a backdoor from inside a pocket dimension to find and defeat two evil liches so we can take back an incredibly powerful necromantic artifact that they stole? Yeah, should be fine."

"Don't worry, reaper guy," Lup says cheerfully, "Barry and I have this in the bag." 

"I still wish-"

"We've been over this," Barry says. "You're too suspicious, you can't hide well enough, and we can't send you a signal from the inside." 

"I know." He just doesn't like it. He did his research and spoke to some of the few people who got out of Wonderland, so they have an approximate idea of what's inside. It's not pretty. Besides, getting rid of liches is his job. He can't believe they've overlooked these two for so long.

"Aw, are you worried about us?" Lup grins.

"I have a… professional interest." 

"Sure." 

Kravitz thinks about protesting that it's his job to oversee them, but decides against it.

"We'll be back soon," Barry promises, and they leave.

Lup returns only twenty minutes later, alone.

"What happened?" Kravitz demands. "Where's Barry? Did you succeed?"

"Calm down, everything's fine!" Lup says. "There was a _slight_ miscalculation, and I didn't make it in. But it's okay, Barry's in, and he'll manage just fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lup says firmly. Then: "We could wait a little closer though, so we're right there when he opens a hole. Just in case, y'know?"

"Sure," Kravitz says dryly. 

They find a nice hidden spot right next to tent, with a good view of the entrance. Not that they need it: Both Kravitz and Lup will be able to feel it as soon as Barry breaks out of the tent's pocket dimension. There's nothing for them to do but wait, and they have no idea how long it will take. 

Kravitz looks over at Lup. She doesn't seem at all worried about Barry being inside on his own, even after how opposed she was to Taako and Merle and Magnus entering it, and those three are already quite dangerous together, as Kravitz experienced first-hand. And that's despite missing the memories of a hundred years of fighting experience! Once they get that back, they'll be even more formidable. Kravitz can't wait to see it. Taako when he's excited is quite the sight.

But then, Taako always looks fantastic, even half paralyzed and making ridiculous threats. 

"Are you thinking about Taako again?" Lup asks, with a delighted grin. "Dude, you have it bad."

Kravitz considers lying, then decides against it. He's only a halfway decent liar in his skeletal form, and changing into that would be as good as an admission.

"We've been on one date," he reminds her. "One. I'm not even sure if it was supposed to be a date. And it ended with me destroying his weapon and leaving with the sister he can't remember." 

"Gotta keep life interesting! Besides, I'm pretty sure coming back with me will get you extra points." Lup winks.

Kravitz didn't even consider not letting Taako meet his sister again. Even if he has to imprison her before Taako gets his memory back; he'll just take Taako on a strictly-speaking-not-allowed visit to the Eternal Stockade. Which Taako would certainly use to try and break Lup out, but that's only to be expected. 

(Kravitz is not looking forward to having to explain to Taako that he'll have to put his sister in jail. Taako is not going to be happy.) 

"Don't worry so much," Lup says. "I happen to know that you're exactly my brother's type. I didn't know he was into the whole skeletal thing, but live and learn, right?"

"I am?" he asks, and tells himself it doesn't sound hopeful.

"Absolutely. Hot, kind, smitten, but not so much that you'd let him walk all over you."

"Thanks… I think." He's surprised by Lup calling him "kind" – after all, he is planning to put her and her boyfriend into jail forever – but he'll take it. 

It takes about half an hour before they feel Barry's magic reaching out for them, and only moments later the whole tent collapses. A big pile of various objects appears where it stood, along with half a dozen people, several of them severely injured. Two liches wearing fancy clothes in bright colors shriek angrily and dive at Barry, who is hovering above them and holding the Animus Bell in his hand. Before Lup and Kravitz can even interfere, Barry has rung the Bell twice, and the liches scream as their forms are torn apart.

"I knew you could do it, babe," Lup says with a proud grin. Barry looks like he would blush if he wasn't incorporeal.

"Are they dead?" Kravitz asks. He eyes the Bell warily. 

"No. The Bell can't do that. I pulled them into this," Barry holds up a hairbrush. When Kravitz concentrates on it, there is powerful necromantic energy emanating from it. "It was lying around," Barry says, embarrassed, and hands it over.

Kravitz hesitates and then puts the hairbrush full of liches in a pocket of his cloak. From what he's previously seen of the Animus Bell's capabilities, it should be impossible for them to break out, and he can deal with them later.

"Nothing to see here, move along," Lup says cheerfully to the people standing nearby and staring.

"Hand over the Animus Bell," Kravitz demands. He warily watches Barry handle it with the casual ease of familiarity. His hand itches for his scythe, but he holds back.

Barry hesitates, and Kravitz tenses.

"Babe," Lup admonishes. 

Barry's shoulders slump, and he holds out the Bell. Kravitz grabs it quickly. He only touches it for a second before he temporarily banishes it into a pocket dimension, but it still feels like it singed his fingers.

"So! That's done." Lup snaps her fingers, creating a small spark. "We make a good team! What's next?" 

It seems unwise to discuss all of their plans next to spectators, so Kravitz cuts them a path back to the astral plane.

"Next we contact Lucretia, right?" Barry asks.

"From the way she reacted when she saw me last, I don't think she wants to talk to us," Lup says. "And she's locked the Bureau down tight. Not even Kravitz can enter without her noticing." 

"We could contact someone else," Barry suggests. "And ask them for help."

Kravitz carefully doesn't suggest anyone in particular.

(Kravitz promised Taako to contact him. He's thought of contacting Taako a hundred times. He hasn't, because Lup says they need to be very careful with activating memories taken by a Voidfish, but he wants to.)

"They won't be able to understand us, remember? And we won't have enough time to convince them before Lucretia throws us out." Unspoken but understood is that Lup wants to avoid harming Lucretia if they can. Kravitz doesn't understand it, but she still seems to be fond of the woman who erased her from every living thing's memory for ten years.

Wait. "I think I know who could help us," Kravitz says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over halfway done! (The next chapter is unfortunately a bit tricky, but hopefully it won't take too long.)  
> Comments are loved.


End file.
